Why Linking Rivers Could Prove to be an Economic and Environmental Disaster

Over the years, India’s water crisis has been deepening as an increasingly large population struggle to get access to sufficient water. There are several reasons for this acute water scarcity, ranging from lack of planning to growing industrialization. With India’s burgeoning population expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050, this issue is only set to intensify. Of the possible solutions envisaged to address this issue, the idea of Inter-Linking of rivers is gaining considerable currency over the past few years

The idea itself isn’t particularly new. It was first suggested way back in 1858, by Arthur Thomas Cotton, a British military engineer. Since then, the idea has resurfaced regularly in various formats. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had put together a national task force to evaluate the issue. Again, the Modi Government began pursuing this idea in right earnest since it came to power in 2014.

Source: National Water Development Agency

The idea does have its share of supporters. For one, it sounds like a great idea in theory and is said to offer several benefits such as better irrigation leading to greater crop production. Yet, there is overwhelming evidence to show that the ambitious project has far too many red flags that we must heed to, before rushing headlong.

Huge Capital Requirement for Linking Rivers

A project this massive undoubtedly needs humungous resources for implementation. If we look at the cost of land acquisition, construction, compensation etc., the project is expected to cost the exchequer a massive Rs. 10 trillion as per rough estimates to connect 14 Himalayan rivers and 16 rivers in peninsular India. This is just the monetary cost. In addition, a project of this nature and magnitude is likely to come with a huge human cost. It could cause displacement of close to 1.5 million people from their homes.

Environmental Impact

Inter-linking of rivers can potentially have a far-reaching environmental impact. It could lead to large scale deforestation, thereby destroying the natural habitat of a large variety of flora and fauna. This large-scale distortion could also deeply impact the monsoon cycle and cause a massive decline in biodiversity in rivers as well as surrounding areas. Many of these changes will be irreversible.

Practical and Logistical Challenges

India has agreements with countries such as Bangladesh, China and Pakistan for river-water sharing. In such a scenario, making massive changes such as changing the course of rivers will not go down well with neighbours. Even within India, inter-state water disputes are bound to intensify.

High Degree of Uncertainty

Even though there is plenty of speculation on the possible impact of a project like this, no one can really predict how it will play out on the ground. There could be several unforeseen effects ranging from large-scale loss of livelihood, change in soil quality etc., which could impact our lives negatively. Again, there is no real scientific evidence that points to the effective ROI from this huge investment. Also, there is evidence to show that most rivers change course in a period of about 100 years. Once the rivers are linked, could a change in course create unintended consequences?

While the intentions behind the river inter-linking project might be noble, the risks might be too high. Instead, there might be several other less intensive measures that might help. For example, while rivers are an important lifeline, groundwater too plays a very important role. Currently, groundwater and small irrigation projects are responsible for about 60 per cent of India’s irrigation requirements. In cities too, groundwater is an important source of water. Therefore, encouraging practices such as rainwater harvesting and other techniques that boost groundwater levels might be a less disruptive, yet effective way to win the battle against water scarcity.